Examines the chaotic state of the British aristocracy in early eighteenth-century Britain
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
Victor Stater is associate professor of history at Louisiana State University and the author of Noble Government.
In a vividly evocative account, Stater (History/Louisiana State Univ.) weaves social and political history into a plot that reads like a Restoration-era episode of Dallas. By the late 17th century the British nobilitys reliance on land-based wealth made them poorer than the new mercantile classes of the emerging British Empire, which compelled many lords to incur ruinous debts to maintain their grand lifestyles. Against this economic backdrop, Stater draws a picture of ubiquitous immorality and violence, typified by the nasty and brutish lives of two men: Charles, the fourth Baron Mohun (16771712), and James, Duke of Hamilton (16581712). Though a prodigious worker in matters of state, Mohun, who was eventually tried for murder twice by the House of Lords, spent most of his life tippling, brawling, and whoring. Hamilton, a Scottish peer who championed Scottish independence, landed twice in the Tower of London for his connections to the Catholic Stuarts and played a deceitful double game for years with the court of the exiled Catholic pretender that amounted to treason. Stater focuses on one particularly fateful piece of intrigue, the bitter decade-long legal battle between Mohun and Hamilton over title to Gawsworth, a valuable English country estate, which had been obtained by Mohun through a monstrous pattern of fraud and perjury, and which Hamilton claimed through his marriage of convenience. The machinations of a rapist and profligate, George MacCartney, whose appointment as governor of Jamaica was blocked by Hamilton, exacerbated the tensions between the two men. In 1712, the Gawsworth lawsuits and the two lords' deepening political enmityMohun and fellow Whigs like the Duke of Marlborough feared that Hamilton's suspected connections with the pretender could result in Catholic restorationled to a mutually fatal encounter on Hyde Park's dueling ground. A vivid, if often ugly, snapshot of a social class under siege in a time of tumultuous change. Well researched and thoughtful. (b&w photos, not seen) -- Copyright ©1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
Shipping:
FREE
Within U.S.A.
Shipping:
US$ 4.00
Within U.S.A.
Seller: ThriftBooks-Atlanta, AUSTELL, GA, U.S.A.
Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. No Jacket. May have limited writing in cover pages. Pages are unmarked. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less 0.4. Seller Inventory # G0809040336I4N00
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: Walther's Books, Hopkins, MN, U.S.A.
Hardcover. Condition: Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Fine. First Edition. Seller Inventory # 002105
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: SecondSale, Montgomery, IL, U.S.A.
Condition: Good. Item in good condition. Textbooks may not include supplemental items i.e. CDs, access codes etc. Seller Inventory # 00052181562
Quantity: 2 available
Seller: James F. Balsley, Bookseller, Williamsburg, VA, U.S.A.
Hardcover. Condition: Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. First Edition. Book is as new. No ownership or other marks. DJ not price clipped, short tear rear panel at bottom edge . There is a tan stain on the front of the jacket. Not book club edition. Not a remainder.; 8vo 8" - 9" tall; 332 pages. Seller Inventory # 17179
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: HPB-Diamond, Dallas, TX, U.S.A.
hardcover. Condition: Very Good. Connecting readers with great books since 1972! Used books may not include companion materials, and may have some shelf wear or limited writing. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!. Seller Inventory # S_393734067
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: GF Books, Inc., Hawthorne, CA, U.S.A.
Condition: Good. Book is in Used-Good condition. Pages and cover are clean and intact. Used items may not include supplementary materials such as CDs or access codes. May show signs of minor shelf wear and contain limited notes and highlighting. 1.15. Seller Inventory # 0809040336-2-4
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: Book Deals, Tucson, AZ, U.S.A.
Condition: Very Good. Very Good condition. Shows only minor signs of wear, and very minimal markings inside (if any). 1.15. Seller Inventory # 353-0809040336-vrg
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: GoldenWavesOfBooks, Fayetteville, TX, U.S.A.
Hardcover. Condition: new. New. Fast Shipping and good customer service. Seller Inventory # Holz_New_0809040336
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: FIRENZELIBRI SRL, Reggello, FI, Italy
Condition: BUONO. cm.14,5x21,5, pp.XIII,(7),332, 22 figg.in bn.nt., sopraccop., altrimenti copia come nuova.) New York, Hill and Wang cm.14,5x21,5, pp.XIII,(7),332, 22 figg.in bn.nt., legatura ed.in mz.tela, titoli in nero al dorso, sopraccop.fig. (piccola chiazza giallastra alla sopraccop., altrimenti copia come nuova.) First Edition. legatura ed.in mz.tela, titoli in nero al dorso, sopraccop.fig. (piccola chiazza giallastra alla. Seller Inventory # 192117
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: Big Bill's Books, Wimberley, TX, U.S.A.
Hardcover. Condition: new. Brand New Copy. Seller Inventory # BBB_new0809040336
Quantity: 1 available